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# plumbing

noun (plumbing, uncountable); verb form (-ing of «plumb»)

«plumbing» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Plumbing is the system of pipes, taps, toilets and drains that bring clean water into a building and take dirty water away. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plumbing/#m1)
2. Plumbing is the job of putting in and fixing these pipes, done by a plumber. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plumbing/#m2)
3. (informal, joking) Someone's plumbing can mean the inside of their body, especially the bladder or bowels. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plumbing/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science and history lessons it shows how clean water and sewers stop disease; the Romans had lead pipes, and «plumbing» comes from the Latin word for lead, «plumbum». In everyday life, leaks and blocked drains are plumbing problems. Phrases: «indoor plumbing», «the plumbing is blocked», «fix the plumbing».

### Examples

- The old cottage had no indoor plumbing, so they used a well. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plumbing/#x1)
- Water was dripping because the plumbing leaked. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plumbing/#x2)
- My uncle does plumbing and fixes boilers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plumbing/#x3)
- Don't flush wipes; they block the plumbing. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plumbing/#x4)
- Roman towns had surprisingly good plumbing. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plumbing/#x5)
- Plumbing helped stop diseases like cholera spreading in cities. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plumbing/#x6)
- When the plumbing froze in winter, we had no water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plumbing/#x7)

### Note

Uncountable: no «a plumbing», no «plumbings». The «b» is silent: «PLUM-ing». Same in «plumber». The chemical symbol for lead, Pb, comes from the same Latin word.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «plumbing» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plumbing/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«plumbing» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/plumbing.html) on Mova free.